EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FOR THE PARAMETER RESETTING
HYPOTHESIS:
THE SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH REFLEXIVE-BINDING
BY JAPANESE SPEAKERS*
Eriko Watanabe, Chisato Fuji, Yoshie Kabuto, and Keiko Murasugi
Nanzan University
1.
Introduction
There are two conflicting hypotheses for the availability of Universal Grammar (UG) to
second language (L2) learners: No UG Access Hypothesis (Clahsen and Muysken 1986,
Schacter 1988, Bley-Vroman 1990, and Epstein, Flynn and Martohardjono 1996, among
others) and Full UG Access Hypothesis (White 1985, 1989, 1992, du Plessis et al. 1987,
Schwartz and Tomaselli 1990, Thomas 1991, and Martohardjono and Gair 1993, among
others). The No UG Access Hypothesis states that L2 acquisition is not constrained by UG
and it is different from first language (L1) acquisition. The Full UG Access Hypothesis states
that UG is available to L2 learners, and the grammar of L2, as well as that of L1, is
constrained by UG. If the latter hypothesis is right and L2 learners can access to UG, the next
question naturally arises is how L2 learners access to UG. There are two major hypotheses
regarding this question: Transfer Hypothesis (Cook 1988, Yuan 1994, and Cook and Newson
1996, among others) and Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (Finer and Broselow 1986, Thomas
1989, 1991, Finer 1990, Hirakawa 1990, and MacLaughlin 1996, 1998, among others).
According to the Transfer Hypothesis, although L2 learners have access to UG, they cannot
set the parameter values of the L2, and use the value of their NL in their L2. On the other
hand, the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis states that L2 learners’ interlanguage grammars are
constrained by UG, and L2 learners can use the parameter values of the L2 (White 2003).
Based on an experimental study on the interpretation of the English reflexives -self (e.g.,
himself) by native speakers of Chinese and Japanese, MacLaughlin (1998) finds that there is
an intermediate acquisition stage where some L2 learners reset the Governing Category
Parameter (GCP) from the value of their NL to that of non-NL (i.e. Russian), thereby arguing
*
We would like to express our deep gratitude to Natsuko Shintani, Tomoko Kawamura, Mamoru Saito,
Tomohiro Fujii, Masaru Nakamura, Kensuke Takita, Dylan Tsai, Jonah Lin, T. T. Christina Hsu, and
Masayuki Komachi for their invaluable comments and suggestions for the material presented in this
paper. This paper was presented at Connecticut-Nanzan-Siena Workshop on Linguistics Theory and
Language Acquisition, held at Nanzan University on February 21, 2007, and Nanzan-Tsing-Hua
Consortium on March 10-11, 2007 held at Tsing-Hua University. We would like to thank the
organizers and the participants for the workshops.
Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2, 263–283
© 2008 Eriko Watanabe, Chisato Fuji, Yoshie Kabuto, and Keiko Murasugi
Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis.1 In this paper, we provide a piece of supportive
evidence for MacLaughlin (1998) based on an experimental study on L2 acquisition of the
English reflexives by the native speakers of Japanese. We discuss that our results are
consistent with MacLaughlin’s (1998) findings and that L2 learners are able to reset their
parameter value.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we discuss the previous studies
regarding how Japanese and Chinese learners of English interpret the English reflexives. In
Section 3, we report the results of our experimental study. Section 4 concludes this paper.
2.
Previous Case Studies
Before we discuss MacLaughlin (1998), we first examine how English, Japanese and
Russian reflexives are interpreted.
2.1
The Cross-linguistic Variations of the Governing Category
It is well known that languages vary with respect to the way of applying Binding
Principle A (Chomsky 1981).2 In order to capture the cross-linguistic variations, Wexler and
Manzini (1987) propose that the choice of the governing category is subject to the parametric
variations. They argue that the Governing Category Parameter (GCP) has five values as in (1).
(1)
Governing Category Parameter (GCP):
γ is a governing category for α iff γ is the minimal category which contains α and
a.
has a subject, or
b.
has an INFL, or
c.
has a TNS, or
d.
has a indicative TNS, or
e.
has a root TNS;
(Wexler and Manzini 1987; 53)3
In this paper, we focus on the English, Japanese and Russian value of the GCP, which are
crucial for our analysis of the experimental results.
The English reflexives are subject to the setting (1a) of the GCP, and they require local
antecedents. The examples are shown in (2).
1
However, MacLaughlin (1998) does not reject the possibility that the L1 parameter value is
transferred to the L2 parameter value. According to him, ‘the experimental evidence argues against an
analysis of L2 learner performance which appeals solely to transfer (MacLaughling 1998; 216).’
2
Binding Condition Principle (A): An anaphor is bound in a local domain (Chomsky 1981).
3
TNS in (1c-e) means Tense.
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Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
(2)
a.
Fredi believes that [Johnj hurt himself*i/j].
b.
Fredi believes [Johnj to have hurt himself*i/j].
(MacLaughlin 1998; 197)4
(2a) has a finite embedded clause, and (2b) has an infinitival embedded clause. In both
sentences, the antecedent of the reflexive must be the local subject John.
The sentences in (3) are the examples with the Japanese reflexive zibun. The Japanese
GCP is set as (1e) and it allows both local and non-local antecedents.
(3)
a.
[Kyokoi -wa Hanakoj-ga
-Top
-Nom
zibuni/j-o aisite iru to
omotte iru].
self -Acc love is Comp think is
‘Kyoko thinks that Hanako loves herself.’
b. [Alicei-wa Hanakoj-ni zibuni/j -o syokaisuru youni tanonda].
-Top
-Dat self -Acc introduce as
asked
‘Alice asked Hanako to introduce herself.’
In (3), both the local and the non-local subjects can be the antecedent of the reflexive.
According to Wexler and Manzini (1987), Chinese and Korean reflexives have the same GCP
value as Japanese.
The Russian reflexive sebja is subject to the setting (1c) of the GCP. The sentences in (4)
are the examples of the Russian reflexive.
(4)
a.
Sašai
Sasha
prosit, čtoby [Marinuj
narisovala sebja*i/j].
requests that Marina-Acc draw
self
‘Sasha requests that Marina draws herself.’
(Bailyn 1992; 317)
b. [Sašai proprosila Marinuj
narisovat’ sebjai/j].
Sasha requested Marina-Acc to draw self
‘Sasha asked Marina to draw herself.’
(Bailyn 1992; 311)
(4a) has a finite embedded clause and (4b) has an infinitival embedded clause. As shown in
(4a), only the local subject Marinu can be the antecedent of the reflexive. On the other hand,
both the local subject Marinu and the non-local subject Saša can be the antecedent of the
reflexive in (4b).
In 2.2 through 2.4, we introduce some previous studies of L2 acquisition on the GCP
4
Although the original sentences do not have these square brackets, we put these square brackets to
indicate the governing category for each reflexive for ease of exposition.
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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
setting. We first overview Finer and Broselow (1986). They examine how Japanese, Chinese,
and Korean learners of English interpret the English reflexives.
2.2
Finer and Broselow (1986)
As we discussed in 2.1, the English reflexives must be bound clause-internally. The
Japanese reflexive zibun, Chinese ziji, and Korean casino, on the other hand, can be bound by
some non-local antecedents (Wexler and Manzini 1987). Finer and Broselow (1986) study the
acquisition of the English reflexives by Japanese, Chinese, and Korean learners of English.
They examine whether L2 learners keep the value of the L1 in L2 or they use the value of L2
when L2 has a different value of the GCP from L1. A comprehension task was used in their
experiment. The experimenter showed a picture and its description to subjects, and asked the
subject whether or not the sentence describes the picture correctly. Some of the test sentences
are shown below:
(5)
a.
Mr. Fati thinks that [Mr. Thinj will paint himself*i/j].
b.
Mr. Fati told [Mr. Thinj to paint himself*i/j].
(Finer and Broselow 1986; 160)
(5a) has a finite embedded clause, and (5b) has an infinitival embedded clause. In both cases,
the antecedent of the reflexive must be the embedded subject, Mr. Thin.
As the results, 91.7% of the subjects answered correctly to (5a), and 58.3% of the
subjects answered correctly to (5b). These results show that more than 50 % of the subjects
showed the tendency to follow the English value of the GCP. Based on these results, Finer
and Broselow (1986) conclude that their subjects reset the value of the GCP from L1 to L2,
thereby supporting the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis.
2.3
Yuan (1994)
Yuan (1994) argues that the results of Finer and Broselow (1986) do not support the
Parameter Resetting Hypothesis, but rather, they support the Transfer Hypothesis. Yuan
(1994) claims that there are two types of reflexives in Japanese, Chinese and Korean: bare
reflexives and phrasal reflexives (cf. Wang and Stillings 1984, Tang 1985, 1989, Pica 1987,
Battistela and Xu 1990, and Cole et al. 1990, among others). Two types of reflexives in these
languages are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1: Bare reflexives and phrasal reflexives of Japanese, Chinese and Korean
the types of the reflexives Bare reflexives
Phrasal reflexives
languages
Japanese
Chinese
Korean
zibun ‘self’
zìjĭ ‘self’
casin ‘self’
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-zisin ‘-self’
-zìjĭ ‘-self’
-casin ‘-self’
Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
The Japanese bare reflexive is zibun and the phrasal reflexives are -zisin. The Chinese bare
reflexive is zìjĭ and the phrasal reflexives are -zìjĭ. The Korean reflexive is casin and the
phrasal reflexives are -casin.
According to Yuan (1994), the bare reflexives and the phrasal reflexives in those
languages have the different values of the GCP. The bare reflexives are subject to the setting
(1e) of the GCP, while the phrasal reflexives are subject to the setting (1a) of the GCP, which
is the same value of the English reflexives -self. Thus, Yuan (1994) argues that the Japanese,
Chinese and Korean learners of English who participated in Finer and Broselow’s (1986)
experiment, in fact, applied their L1 value of the GCP for phrasal reflexives to English
reflexives.
In the next sub-section, we overview MacLaughlin (1998), which provides some counter
evidence to Yuan’s (1994) proposal.
2.4
MacLaughlin (1998)
MacLaughlin (1998) examines the acquisition of the English reflexives by the native
speakers of Japanese and Chinese. He performed an experimental study to examine how
Japanese and Chinese learners of English interpret the English reflexives. The subjects
consisted of 10 Japanese native speakers and 5 Chinese native speakers, and the
comprehension task was used. Some examples of the test sentences are shown below:
(6)
(7)
a.
b.
c.
Barbara thinks that [Lisa is proud of herself].
herself can be Barbara.
AGREE
herself can be Lisa.
AGREE
a.
b.
c.
Michael forces [Peter to help himself].
himself can be Michael.
AGREE
himself can be Peter.
AGREE
DISAGREE
DISAGREE
DISAGREE
DISAGREE
(MacLaughlin 1998; 211)
Each test sentence has two following statements to check the interpretation of the reflexive.
The statement in (b) asks if the non-local subject can be the antecedent of the reflexive. The
statement (c) asks if the local subject can be the antecedent of the reflexive. The subjects were
expected to indicate whether they agree or disagree with each statement, and to circle either
AGREE or DISAGREE. Take (6) for instance. If the subjects agree to the statement (6b),
‘herself can be Barbara,’ they circle AGREE, and if they disagree to the statement, they circle
DISAGREE.
MacLaughlin (1998) reports that the subjects can be categorized into three groups: the
subjects who used the English value of the GCP, the subjects who applied the Japanese value
of the GCP, and the subjects who used the Russian value of the GCP. The number of subjects
in each group is shown in (8).
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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
(8)
a.
b.
c.
Subjects who used the English value of the GCP
Subjects who applied the Japanese value of the GCP
Subjects who used the Russian value of the GCP
: 6/15
: 2/15
: 7/15
6 out of 15 subjects used the English value of the GCP and 2 out of 15 subjects applied the
Japanese value of the GCP. In addition, 7 out of the 15 subjects used the Russian value of the
GCP.
The examples of the responses by the subjects in (8a) are given in (9) and (10).
(9)
a.
b.
c.
(10) a.
b.
c.
Barbara thinks that [Lisa is proud of herself].
herself can be Barbara.
AGREE
herself can be Lisa.
AGREE 
DISAGREE
DISAGREE

Michael forces [Peter to help himself].
himself can be Michael.
AGREE
himself can be Peter.
AGREE
DISAGREE
DISAGREE


The subjects in (8a) judged that the antecedent of the reflexive must be the local one in both
sentences with a finite and an infinitival embedded clause. These results indicate that they
have an English-type setting of the GCP.
The subjects in (8b) applied the Japanese value of the GCP, and answered as shown in
(11) and (12).
(11) a.
b.
c.
[Barbara thinks that Lisa is proud of herself].
herself can be Barbara.
AGREE 
herself can be Lisa.
AGREE 
DISAGREE
DISAGREE
(12) a.
b.
c.
[Michael forces Peter to help himself].
himself can be Michael.
AGREE
himself can be Peter.
AGREE
DISAGREE
DISAGREE


Those subjects judged the non-local subject can be the antecedent of the reflexive in both the
sentence with a finite embedded clause and the sentence with a non-finite embedded clause.
The subjects in (8c) has the Russian value of the GCP, and their responses showed some
differences between the sentence with a finite embedded clause and the sentence with an
infinite embedded clause as in (13) and (14).
(13) a.
b.
c.
Barbara thinks that [Lisa is proud of herself].
herself can be Barbara.
AGREE 
herself can be Lisa.
AGREE 
-268-
DISAGREE
DISAGREE
Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
(14) a.
b.
c.
[Michael forces Peter to help himself].
himself can be Michael.
AGREE
himself can be Peter.
AGREE


DISAGREE
DISAGREE
In the sentence with a finite embedded clause, they allowed only the local subject for the
antecedent of the reflexive, but in the sentence with an infinite embedded clause, either the
local subject or the non-local subject could be the antecedent of the reflexive.
It is interesting that the number of subjects who chose the Russian value of the GCP is
the largest, as shown in (8). 7 subjects out of 15 had the Russian-type setting, while only 2
had the Japanese-type setting and other 6 had the English-type.
The fact that the Japanese and Chinese learners of English use the Russian-type GCP,
instead of merely using the value of his/her own NL, indicate that the L2 learners set the
parameter value to the non-NL. Thus, MacLaughlin’s (1988) results support the Parameter
Resetting Hypothesis.
3.
Experiment
MacLaughlin (1998) argues that some native speakers of Japanese and Chinese reset the
value of the GCP from their NL to that of non-NL, English or Russian ones. Based on his
results, we conducted an experiment with larger number of subjects. Using the grammatical
judgement task, we examined whether or not his results hold for 92 native speakers of
Japanese.
3.1
Subjects
We tested 92 university students in Japan who are native speakers of Japanese. We also
tested five English native speakers for the subject of the control test. Table 2 summarizes the
number of subjects in our experiment and in MacLaughlin (1988).
Table 2: The subjects in our experiment and in MacLaughlin (1998)
Native languages
Our experiment
Japanese (N=92)
The number of subjects
92
MacLaughlin (1998)
Japanese (n=10)
Chinese (n=5)
15
As shown in Table 2, the number of subjects in our experiment is far larger than that of
MacLaughlin (1998).
3.2
Test Sentences
The experiment consists of two parts: four preliminary tests and one main test. The
preliminary tests consist of Lexical Test, Governing Category Test, Syntax Test 1 and Syntax
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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
Test 2. These preliminary tests were designed to examine the subjects’ knowledge of the
structures and the vocabularies that were used in the main test.5 81 out of 92 passed the
preliminary tests.
The main test was designed to examine the subjects’ interpretation of the English
reflexives with respect to the GCP. It consists of two types of sentences: one contains a finite
embedded clause and the other contains an infinitival embedded clause.6 The test sentences
are shown in (15a) and (16a).
(15)
a. Ann remembers that [Mary introduced herself].
b. herself can be Ann.
c. herself can be Mary.
(16)
a. Mary asked [Ann to introduce herself].
b. herself can be Mary.
c. herself can be Ann.
The sentence (15a) has a reflexive within a finite embedded clause, and the sentence (16a) has
a reflexive within an infinitival embedded clause. Two statements (b) and (c) follow each test
sentence. The statement (b) checks whether or not the non-local subject can be the antecedent
of the reflexive; the statement (c) checks if the local subject can be the antecedent of the
reflexive.
3.3
Prediction
If MacLaughlin’s (1998) analysis is on the right track, we predict that subjects’ answers
should fall into three groups: Japanese-type, English-type and Russian-type, as summarized in
Table 3.
Table 3: The Prediction
Clause type
Reflexive type
English-type
Japanese-type
Russian-type
A sentence with a finite A sentence with an infinitival
embedded clause
embedded clause
Local subject only
Local/ non-local subject
Local subject only
Local/ non-local subject
The subjects with the English-type GCP would answer as in (17) and (18).
5
See Appendix A for the contents of the preliminary tests.
6
We used the same verb, ‘introduce’, for both the finite and the infinitival embedded clause in order
to avoid the influence of subjects’ knowledge of vocabularies on the interpretation of the English
reflexive.
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Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
(17)
a. Ann remembers that [Mary introduced herself].
b. herself can be Ann.
AGREE
DISAGREE
c. herself can be Mary.
AGREE
DISAGREE
(18)
a. Mary asked [Ann to introduce herself].
b. herself can be Mary.
AGREE
c. herself can be Ann.
AGREE
DISAGREE
DISAGREE
The subjects would answer that only the local subject is allowed for the antecedent of the
reflexive. Then, the subjects would circle DISAGREE for the statement (b) and AGREE for
the statement (c).
The subjects with the Japanese-type GCP would answer as in (19) and (20).
(19)
a. [Ann remembers that Mary introduced herself].
b. herself can be Ann.
AGREE
DISAGREE
c. herself can be Mary.
AGREE
DISAGREE
(20)
a. [Mary asked Ann to introduce herself].
b. herself can be Mary.
AGREE
c. herself can be Ann.
AGREE
DISAGREE
DISAGREE
If subjects keep their Japanese setting of the GCP, they would answer both the local and the
non-local subject are available for the antecedent of the reflexive.
The subjects with the Russian-type GCP would answer as (21) and (22).
(21)
a. Ann remembers that [Mary introduced herself].
b. herself can be Ann.
AGREE
DISAGREE
c. herself can be Mary.
AGREE
DISAGREE
(22)
a. [Mary asked Ann to introduce herself].
b. herself can be Mary.
AGREE
c. herself can be Ann.
AGREE
DISAGREE
DISAGREE
If subjects have the Russian-type GCP, they would disallow the non-local subject for the
antecedent of the reflexives in the sentence with a finite embedded clause, but they would
allow it in the sentence with an infinite clause.
3.4
Results
3.4.1
Group Results
The results of the control test are shown in Table 4.
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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
Table 4:
The responses to the main test by the native English speaker (n=5)
The responses
The antecedent is
local subject
non-local
only
subject only
The
types of the
embedded clause
a finite embedded 100%(n=5)
clause
infinitival
100%(n=5)
embedded clause
0%
both
none of them
local/non-local
subject
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
It shows that the subjects of the control test (native English speakers) chose only the local
subject as the antecedent of the reflexive.
Table 5 and 6 present the performance of the L2 learners on the main test. Table 5 shows
the responses to the sentence with a finite embedded clause.
Table 5:
The responses to the test sentence with a finite embedded clause (n=81)
The responses
The antecedent is
local subject
non-local
only
subject only
The number of
subjects (%)
92.6%
(n=75)
0%
both
local/non-local
subject
7.4%
(n=6)
none of
them
SUM
0%
100%
(n=81)
92.6% of the subjects chose only the local subject as the antecedent of the reflexive and 7.4%
of the subjects chose both the local and the non-local subject as the antecedent of the
reflexive.
Table 6 shows the responses to the sentence with an infinitival embedded clause.
Table 6:
The responses to the test sentence with an infinitival embedded clause (n=81)
The responses
The antecedent is
local subject
non-local
only
subject only
The number of
subjects (%)
33.3%
(n=27)
0%
both
local/non-local
subject
66.7%
(n=54)
none of
them
SUM
0%
100%
(n=81)
33.3% of the subjects answered that only the local subject can be the antecedent of the
reflexive, and 66.7% of the subjects answered that both the local and the non-local subject can
be the antecedent of the reflexive. These results show that, in contrast to the subject of the
control test, some L2 learners chose not only the local subject but also the non-local subject as
the antecedent of the reflexive. That is, some L2 learners applied the non-English GCP values
to interpret the English reflexives.
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Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
In the next sub-section, we examine the results individually in order to determine which
value of the GCP each subject uses.
3.4.2
Individual Results
The responses by the subject of the control test are repeated below. The English
reflexives must be bound locally in both the sentence with a finite clause and the sentence
with an infinitival clause. Therefore, we expected that the English native speaker would allow
only the local subject as the antecedent of the reflexive in both the finite and the infinitival
embedded clauses.
Table 4:
The responses to the main test by the native English speaker (n=5)
The responses
The antecedent is
local subject
non-local
only
subject only
The
types of the
embedded clause
a finite embedded 100%(n=5)
clause
an infinitival
100%(n=5)
embedded clause
0%
both
none of them
local/non-local
subject
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
As we expected, the English native speaker allowed only the local subject as the antecedent of
the reflexive.
Turning now to the L2 learners, we found three patterns of responses, just like
MacLaughlin (1998) did. Out of 81 subjects, 27 showed the English-type setting of the GCP,
6 showed the Japanese-type setting, and 48 showed the Russian-type setting. Table 7 through
9 show the details of those three responses.
Let us first examine the first 27 subjects who showed the English-type setting of the
GCP.
Table 7:
English-type (n=27)
The responses
The antecedent is
local subject
non-local
only
subject only
The
types of the
embedded clause
a finite embedded 100%(n=27)
clause
an infinitival
100%(n=27)
embedded clause
0%
both
none of them
local/non-local
subject
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Those subjects allowed only the local subject as the antecedent of the reflexive, just like the
English native speaker did.
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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
Table 8 shows the responses of 6 subjects who showed the Japanese-type setting of the
GCP.
Table 8:
Japanese-type (n=6)
The responses
The antecedent is
local subject
non-local
only
subject only
The
types of the
embedded clause
a finite embedded 0%
clause
an infinitival
0%
embedded clause
0%
both
none of them
local/non-local
subject
100% (n=6)
0%
0%
100% (n=6)
0%
Those subjects allowed both the local and the non-local subject as the antecedent of the
reflexive. Note that their responses did not show any differences between the sentence with a
finite clause and the sentence with an infinite clause. This indicates that they use the
Japanese-type of the GCP to interpret the English reflexives.
Table 9 shows the responses of 48 subjects.
Table 9:
Russian-type (n=48)
The responses
The antecedent is
local subject
non-local
only
subject only
The
types of the
embedded clause
a finite embedded 100% (n=48)
clause
an infinitival
0%
embedded clause
0%
both
none of them
local/non-local
subject
0%
0%
0%
100% (n=48)
0%
They did not allow the non-local subject as the antecedent of the reflexive in the sentence
with a finite embedded clause, while they allowed the non-local subject as the antecedent of
the reflexive in the sentence with an infinitival embedded clause. This indicates that they use
the Russian-type setting of the GCP.
Those results of the main test are summarized in Figure 1.
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Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
The number of subjects who are
categorized into each group
Figure 1: The results of the main test
$%
'&
$'
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)'
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(&
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#
&
English-type
(
Japanese-type
Russian-type
Others
The “English-type” refers to the subjects who used the English value of the GCP to interpret
the English reflexives. The “Japanese-type” refers to the subjects who applied the Japanese
value of the GCP to interpret the English reflexives, and the “Russian-type” refers to the
subjects who used the Russian value of the GCP to interpret the English reflexives. “Others”
refers to the subjects who used the GCP value other than that of English, Japanese or Russian.
It is interesting that the number of subjects who has the Japanese-type setting of the GCP is
the smallest. 6 out of 81 subjects applied the Japanese value of the GCP. More than half of the
subjects, 48 out of 81, have the Russian-type setting of the GCP. 27 subjects have the GCP
value of English. It means that 93% of our subjects interpreted the English reflexives using
the non-NL binding system (i.e., either the English-type or the Russian-type).
Our results are summarized in Table 10.
Table 10: The value of the GCP exhibited by the L2 learners
The types of
the GCP value
English-type (L2)
Japanese-type (NL)
Russian-type
3.5
The
number
of subjects
27
6
48
The response patterns
The sentence with a finite The sentence with an
embedded clause
infinitival embedded clause
Local subject only
Local/non-local subject
Local subject only
Local/non-local subject
Discussion
The responses of our subjects are clearly divided into three types. Observe Table 10.
27 out of 81 subjects used the English-type of the GCP to interpret the English reflexives.
They chose the local subject only as the antecedent of the reflexives in both a finite and an
infinitival embedded clause. The number of subjects who applied the Japanese-type of the
GCP is 6. They chose both the local and the non-local subject as the antecedent of the
reflexive in both a finite and an infinitival embedded clause. The subjects who used the
Russian-type of the GCP chose only the local subject as the antecedent of the reflexive in a
finite embedded clause, and both the local and the non-local subject as the antecedent of the
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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
reflexive in an infinite embedded clause. 48 out of 81 subjects are categorized into this group.
The results are consistent with those of MacLaughlin (1998), and confirm his results with
larger number of subjects.
All three types of the GCP value, which are found in L2 acquisition, are actually the
possible grammar in some languages; English, Japanese, and Russian.7 These results indicate
that the grammar of L2 learners is constrained by UG, and our results support the Full UG
Access Hypothesis, but not the No UG Access Hypothesis.
In addition, according to MacLaughlin (1998), the results also support the Parameter
Resetting Hypothesis because L2 learners use the GCP value of non-NL (i.e., English or
Russian). Before we conclude that our results support the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis, we
examine two other possible analyses on our results.
We first examine a possible analysis of the responses by subjects with the Russian-type
GCP. According to MacLaughlin (1998), the presence of the Russian-type is one of the
crucial points to support the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis. However, there is another
possible analysis for the responses. That is, as Dulay et al. (1982) and Lott (1983) among
others argue, the responses may be due to the NL interference on L2.8 According to Dulay et
al. (1982), the NL interference is the automatic influence of the learners’ L1 grammar on the
L2 production. Our experimental results, however, are not explained well by this analysis.
If the NL interference may disturb the subjects’ interpretation of the English reflexives,
then, the four types of responses should be found. The four possibilities are summarized in
Table 11.
Table 11: The possible interpretations of the English reflexives
Clause type
A finite clause
An infinitival clause
Type
A
B
C
D
Local subject only
Local/ non-local subject
Local subject only
Local/ non-local subject
Local/ non-local subject
Local subject only
The response in Type-A is predicted if NL does not interfere with the interpretation of the
English reflexives. If the Japanese value of the GCP interferes with the interpretation of the
English reflexives in both a finite and an infinitival embedded clause, then we predict that the
response in Type B will be found. Moreover, the response in Type C is predicted if NL
7
Mamoru Saito, Tomohiro Fujii and Masayuki Komachi questioned whether or not the subjects set
such parameter values as (1b) and (1d) other than the Russian parameter value in the intermediate
acquisition stages. Our experimental study does not falsify nor support the possibility, as (1b) and (1d)
are not overt in the English syntax.
8
We would like to thank T. T. Christina Hsu for this suggestion.
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Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
interferes with the interpretation of the English reflexives in an infinitival embedded clause.
In addition, if the Japanese value of the GCP interferes with the interpretation of the English
reflexive in a finite embedded clause, the response like Type D is predicted.
The responses of Type A, B and C are corresponding to the responses of the
English-type, the Japanese-type, and the Russian-type respectively. However, none of our
subjects are categorized in Type D. Thus, the analysis of Dulay et al. (1982) fails to make the
correct prediction.
Next, let us discuss the English-type setting of the GCP. MacLaughlin (1998) proposes
that the presence of this English-type GCP in L2 acquisition supports the Parameter Resetting
Hypothesis. However, these responses can be interpreted in another way: the subjects might
transfer the L1 value (Yuan 1994).
In order to examine whether or not the Japanese learners of English used the Japanese
value of the GCP to interpret the English reflexives, we conducted a follow-up test, and the
results provide a piece of counter evidence to Yuan’s argument. We employed the
grammatical judgement task to examine the interpretation of the English reflexives and the
Japanese reflexives. Subjects were 14 university students whose native language was
Japanese.
The tests consisted of two parts: Session 1 and Session 2. Session 1 consisted of two
parts, 4 preliminary tests and one main test. The preliminary tests were same as the one used
in Section 3 and all subjects passed the preliminary tests. For the main test, we used 6 test
sentences as in (23).
(23) a.
Mary thinks that Lisa is proud of herself.
b.
Ann remembers that Mary introduced herself.
c.
Bob knows that Ken blames himself.
d.
Bob wants Peter to be proud of himself.
e.
Lisa asked Alice to introduce herself.
f.
Mary asks Alice to blame herself.
The main test was preceded in the same way as the experiment in Section 3. In Session 2,
subjects were asked to translate the test sentences in (23) into Japanese.
According to Yuan’s (1994) Transfer Hypothesis, some Japanese learners of English use
the GCP value of the Japanese phrasal reflexives -zisin for the interpretation of the English
reflexives. Hence, if Yuan’s argument is on the right track, those subjects who have the
English GCP value and do not allow the non-local antecedent would translate English -self as
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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
-zisin, while those subjects who have the Japanese GCP value and allow the non-local
antecedent would translate -self as zibun. Those predictions are summarized in Table 12.
Table 12: Prediction based on Yuan’s (1994) Transfer Hypothesis
The value of the GCP
English-type
Japanese-type
The translation of the English reflexives
-zisin ‘-self’
zibun ‘self’
If the subjects used the English-type of the GCP to interpret the English reflexives, they
would translate the English reflexives into the Japanese phrasal reflexives. On the other hand,
if the subjects applied the Japanese-type of the GCP to interpret the English reflexives, they
would translate the English reflexives into the Japanese bare reflexive.
Figure 2 shows the results of the Session 1.
The number of subjects who are
categorized into each group
Figure 2: The results of the Session 1
!"
!"
*
)
(
'
&
%
#
#
$
!
!
"
"
English-type
!
Japanese-type
Russian-type
Others
As we find in Figure 2, 10 out of 14 subjects used the English value of the GCP, only 1 out of
14 subjects applied the Japanese value of the GCP, and 3 out of 14 subjects used the Russian
value of the GCP.
Next, we compare these results with those of Session 2. Table 13 shows the translations
of the English reflexives by one of the L2 learners. This subjects used the English-type GCP
to interpret the English reflexives in Session 1. Therefore, according to Yuan’s (1994) transfer
Hypothesis, we predicted that this subject would translate the English reflexives as Japanese
phrasal reflexives, whose GCP value is the same with that of the English reflexives.
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Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
Table 13: The translations of the English reflexives by one of the L2 learners who used the
English value of the GCP (23a) to interpret the English reflexives
The test sentences
Finite embedded Infinitival embedded
clauses
clauses
Mary thinks that Lisa is proud of zibun-zisin
herself.
‘myself’
Ann remembers that Mary introduced
zibun
herself.
‘self’
Bob knows that Ken blames himself.
kare-zisin
‘himself’
Bob wants Peter to be proud of himself.
This subject did not
answer this question.
Lisa asked Alice to introduce herself.
zibun-zisin
‘myself’
Mary asks Alice to blame herself.
zibun
‘self’
Contrary to our prediction, this subject did not always translate the English reflexives into
Japanese as -zisin, or the Japanese phrasal reflexives.9 Table 13 shows the actual data.
Table 14 is the responses by a subject who set the Japanese-type GCP in Session 1.
Table 14: The translations of the English reflexives by one of the L2 learners who set the
Japanese value of the GCP (23e) to interpret the English reflexives
The test sentences
Mary thinks that Lisa is proud of herself.
Ann remembers that Mary introduced
herself.
Bob knows that Ken blames himself.
Finite embedded
clauses
zibun-zisin
‘myself’
zibun-zisin
‘myself’
Ken-zisin
(the local subject)
Bob wants Peter to be proud of himself.
Peter-zisin
(the local subject)
Alice-zisin
(the local subject)
zibun-zisin
‘myself’
Lisa asked Alice to introduce herself.
Mary asks Alice to blame herself.
9
Infinitival
embedded clauses
See Appendix B for more responses by the subjects who set the English-type GCP.
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Nanzan Linguistics: Special Issue 3, Vol. 2
This subject did not always translate the English reflexives as the Japanese bare reflexives
zibun. These responses are also contrary to what the Yuan’s (1994) Transfer Hypothesis
predicts.
The results indicate that the subjects who apply the English value of the GCP do not
transfer their Japanese value of the GCP. They reset their L1 parametric value to that of the
target language, or English. Thus, our results of the main test (Section 3) that 27 subjects
exhibit the English binding system provide a piece of supportive evidence for the Parameter
Resetting Hypothesis.
4.
Conclusion
In this paper, we examined the availability of UG for L2 learners. Based on the
experimental study on the interpretation of English reflexives -self (e.g., himself) by the native
speakers of Japanese, we found that there is an intermediate acquisition stage where some L2
learners reset the Governing Category Parameter (GC) from the value of Japanese to the
non-Japanese (i.e., Russian), as MacLaughlin (1998) finds. The L2 learners select the value of
the GCP that is neither the one for their NL (i.e., Japanese) nor the one for the L2 (i.e.,
English). They sometimes select the value for a language that they have never been exposed
to (i.e., Russian). Thus, our study provides a piece of supportive evidence for proposal that the
grammar of L2 learners is constrained by UG (the Full UG Access Hypothesis), and for the
Parameter Resetting Hypothesis.
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Appendix A: The Contents of the Preliminary Tests
The preliminary tests consist of Lexical Test, Governing Category Test, Syntax Test 1,
and Syntax Test 2. The Lexical test assesses the knowledge of the lexical meaning of the
English reflexives -self. The test sentences are shown in (i). The subjects are asked to choose
one of the choices to best indicate the picture.
(i) a.Mary’s mother asked Bob about
b. Mr. White drew
a. him
b. himself
c. me
d. myself
c. Mr. Short found
a. Miss Young
b. Mr. Short
c. him
d. himself
a. myself.
b. yourself
c. themselves
d. himself
on a piece of paper.
in the picture.
Bob
B
o
b
Miss Young
M mother
Mary’s
a
r
y
’
s
m
o
tMr White
h
e
r
Mr. Short
The Governing Category Test is designed to assess the subjects’ knowledge of the
binding domain. The test sentences contain a pronoun in an embedded clause, as in (ii).
(ii)
a.
b.
Barbara thought that Lisa hit her brother.
Michael forced John to give him the key.
(a finite embedded clause)
(an infinite embedded clause)
The Syntax Test 1 assesses the linear order effects. The examples have a relative clause
as in (iii).
(iii) a.
Miss Old who is a sister of June is looking at herself in a mirror.
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Experimental Evidence for the Parameter Resetting Hypothesis (E. Watanabe et al.)
b.
The man who John met wrote a story about himself.
The Syntax Test 2 assesses the knowledge of the structure of embedded clauses. The
sentences in (iv) are the test sentences.
(iv) a.
b.
Phillip found that Ken passed the exam.
Ken forced Sally to go to school.
(a finite embedded clause)
(an infinite embedded clause)
Appendix B: The Translations of the English Reflexives by the L2 Learners
Table 15: The translations of the English reflexives by one of the L2 learners who used the
English value of the GCP (1a) to interpret the English reflexives
The test sentences
Finite embedded
clauses
Mary thinks that Lisa is proud of herself. zibun
‘self’
Ann remembers that Mary introduced zikosyokai
herself.
‘introducing myself’
Bob knows that Ken blames himself.
zibun
‘self’
Bob wants Peter to be proud of himself.
Lisa asked Alice to introduce herself.
Mary asks Alice to blame herself.
Infinitival embedded
clauses
zibun
‘self’
zikosyokai
‘introducing myself’
zibun
‘self’
Table 16: The translations of the English reflexives by one of the L2 learners who used the
English value of the GCP (1a) to interpret the English reflexives
The test sentences
Mary thinks that Lisa is proud of herself.
Ann remembers that Mary introduced
herself.
Bob knows that Ken blames himself.
Finite embedded
clauses
zibun
‘self’
zikosyokai
‘introducing myself’
zibun
‘self’
Bob wants Peter to be proud of himself.
Lisa asked Alice to introduce herself.
Infinitival embedded
clauses
Peter (local subject)
zikosyokai
‘introducing myself’
watasi
‘I’
Mary asks Alice to blame herself.
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